Is it possible to homeschool older children while you have young toddlers or babies running and crawling around? Will doing this compromise the quality of the rigorous education you offer your school-aged children? The short answer is “no”. Here are some tips on getting through this phase where the days are long, but the years so very short.
Tips for a Full House
It’s one thing to homeschool your only child, but homeschooling older children while you still have younger children running, crawling and cooing around the house, it’s a whole different ballgame. Multiple siblings come with multiple interruptions and a fair amount of chaos if not handled properly.
Rather than viewing the interruptions for what they appear to be, consider it a sign of how comfortable your children are at home, and that they love you enough to try to get your attention – even in undesired ways.
I have found it doable to manage home education with younger children by using a few tricks: teaching children to wait from an early age, using play yards and busy boxes, changing the home instruction location and by showing all the children that life is sometimes just life.
“Busy boxes” are particularly nice to have. If you have the resources, either create or purchase your own pinterest worthy busy box. Water beads in a tote filled with a few smaller toys or seashells hold attention very nicely for long periods. Empty shipping boxes also make for excellent busy boxes: fill them with things you do not mind cleaning up later. The biggest hit for us was a box filled with a few dried pinecones, twigs of a pine tree (yes, the pokey one!), some cotton balls and a few small toy bugs. There was little thought that went into this box, but it sure was interesting for the toddler.
Teaching Patience
Instruct your children – from age one and onward – to wait for a reasonable amount of time. The average one year old should be able to wait for one minute, a preschooler for four minutes and a kindergartner for five to ten minutes. If the toddler wants milk while you are busy, instruct him to wait for a set timeframe or activity. Unless it is urgent and important, you are not obliged to provide instant services. I love telling my children “yes”, but almost always that request is followed up with “but you have to wait a moment”, and that is just fine.
Get your baby accustomed to being content for short amounts of time in a play yard, with items she normally does not get to play with freely.
Example: if baby wants to play in the kitchen while you are making dinner, bring in the play yard to keep baby out of harm’s way, but still in the kitchen. Place baby together with a few highly desirable items such as measuring cups, spoons, and apple slices and carrots in the play yard, and engage in occasional dialogue with her. Start this habit training of waiting and being able to play individually at an early age, and verbally reward that behavior with “Baby, you are placing so nicely!” and “Baby, you played so nicely by yourself, now let’s go read a book!”. You will thank yourself for these efforts later.
Give your toddler something fun to do while you give formal instructions to the older children. We have – at times – had certain toys available only during home instruction for older siblings, and after the lessons those toys were put away again.
On cold days, I build blanket forts next to our table, and on hot days, I surround the toddler with towels on the tile kitchen floor, and offer a few pots, some ladles and a pitcher half filled with water. These examples should show you that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to entertain younger children. It’s mostly habit training of playing by themselves that will get the job done.
Teaching Them to Entertain Themselves & Learn at the Same Time
Some preschoolers love to “do school” while older siblings receive formal instructions. This can be as simple as offering water paint, coloring pages, a puzzle and a few workbook pages from the dollar store. The goal of these lessons is not getting high quality work done; it is to increase the preschooler’s attention span, his ability to wait for turns and his listening skills. If your preschooler sits for ten minutes and then runs off to play, that is fine. Do encourage gently to finish their work, but keep your eyes on the goal (quiet entertainment) and know that they learn through play.
The location of your home instruction is not pre-determined to be at the table or at a desk. Read-alouds, history lessons, and social studies can be done in many places: on the couch, in the park, during walks or at the table. Allow younger children to play in the living room or outside, with mom watching them, but still providing home instruction. Learning does not have to happen at the table; in fact most often it does not happen at the table. Be flexible. Consider visiting the playground for an hour before starting school, so the children have a chance to put all their energy to good use, and then to sit and learn for a while.
Dealing with Educational Setbacks & Other Minor Tribulations
It is also important to acknowledge that on some days the worksheets just aren’t going to happen. Rather than argue and yell, cut your losses and think of a better thing to do. It is not even necessary to “make up” that missed day. If it makes you feel better, you can impromptu declare a “teacher’s education day” if you wish, or a snow day in the middle of summer.
And here is a special note, for all the tired mothers juggling many plates at once: you can get crayon marks off the walls with magic erasers. You can microwave tea and coffee (it is easier to use a thermos). Give yourself the grace you would a fellow homeschooling, red-pilled sister.
Eyes on the Prize
When children learn in such an environment, and when they see their parents gracefully navigate the delicate balance of tending to young ones while providing formal instructions to the older children, they learn first-hand how to show grace to their siblings.
They will see and learn compassion and understanding for little ones, although they might not show that when little Johnny interrupts them again as multiplications and divisions are being explained. Being able to focus with younger siblings around them, will give your children an attention span which will greatly exceeds that of their school-going peers.
Life comes with fussy babies, demanding toddlers, energetic preschoolers, needy early elementary aged children and older children with a difficult subject. In the end, always remember: You are doing a great job educating the sons and daughters of our great people!